Morning Jog
by Breakin' Dishes
Summary: Every morning, Gabriella Montez gets up and goes for a jog at 6:35am. Her best friend watches her from his window every morning. So one day, when she doesn't leave at 6:35am, Troy Bolton knows somethings wrong, and she needs him. One-shot Troyella


**An: Wow day of updates for me. So yeah i was debating taking up jogging every morning and this came to mind :D Hope you like it.**

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**Morning Jog**

Since he was 10 years old, Troy Bolton had watched Gabriella Montez jog. He had just moved into his new town and as he looked out from his brand new bedroom window at 6:35am he saw his new neighbour and her father coming from her house and beginning to jog away along the road.

Since he could remember he had been mesmerised by the way her chestnut brown curls swung gracefully around her shoulders. Darkening over the years to an almost midnight coloured array which tumbled sensuously down her shoulders and back. That first time he had seen her, she had looked up and waved, her teeth forming a slightly misshaped smile as her playful brown eyes met with his electric blue. 8 years later the pattern had not changed, only her teeth were now straight and gleamed in the sunlight. Her eyes had darkened to the colour of bitter chocolate, small flecks of amber lighting the centre.

Not too much had changed in those 8 years, except Gabriella had become his best friend and a slim, lithe goddess with a figure to rival Jennifer Aniston. The supple curve of her full breasts; the slimness of her hips and her long elongated tan legs brought out by the tightness of her spandex shorts where what got Troy Bolton out of bed in the morning. The years of intense yearning ever present in his sparkling azure eyes.

So when one day Gabriella didn't leave for her jog until 6:40am, he became concerned. She was never late for her jog. When she got her first failing grade at 15 years old she left at 6:35. When her grandma was leaving for the airport after her first visit for 6 years, she missed it to jog at 6:35, and when her father was diagnosed with cancer 1 year ago; she pulled on some big sunglasses, called Troy, wiped away her tears and went for her morning jog at 6:35.

Troy spent the whole day at school watching her, and trying to subtly get her to tell him what was up. She, however, seemed normal enough to him, her smile still lit up an entire room, and her tantalizing body still gracefully flitted from class to class, taunting him as they laughed together in the cafeteria at lunch. So when Troy awoke on March 26th at 6:20am he fully expected to see his neighbour and his best friend Gabriella Montez leave her house at 6:35am, turn her head to him and wave flashing him the same smile he had fallen in love with 8 years ago.

By 6:45 he was panicked, as he dressed for school he listened painstakingly for the familiar close of a door, and by 7:00am he knew. Something was seriously wrong.

At 10:00am he banged wildly on her front door. She hadn't left for school, so obviously neither had he. When the navy blue front door was finally unlocked from its hinges, Troy thought he had gotten the wrong house. Gabriella Montez stood, tight fitted grey tracksuit adorning her coveted body, a large tub of strawberry ice-cream held in one hand, with the spoon hanging from her mouth in the most adorable way he had ever seen. Her hair was piled onto her head like a birds nest, and hot tears rolled down her cheeks as her face was flushed, and her pink cupid bow lips trembled, the spoon in her mouth moving with violent tremors. It was in that moment that he knew. It had happened.

"When?"

He managed to croak, his voice breaking with pain as he pulled her into a tight hug, walking her into the house as he shut the door. Gently taking the spoon from her mouth and wiping a few tears from her chin and around her mouth. Her expressive eyes caked in pain as she dropped the ice-cream tub onto the cream carpet and threw her arms around him.

"Last night"

He held her as close as he could possibly manage at that moment. Shedding a few tears of his own for and with her. They had both seen it coming, Carlos Montez's health had been diminishing for months, and the last time Troy had seen him, he had looked withered and grey.

"What will I do without him Troy?"

She was beside herself, her body wracked with sobs as he led her to the sofa. He really was the most amazing best friend she had ever had, and without him probably wouldn't have survived her father's illness. He was the only person in east high that knew about her dad's cancer. She hadn't even told Taylor, she couldn't. It hurt her too much.

"Shh. Shhh. He's still here Ella. Maybe not in body, but in spirit he will always be with you."

He had never felt such a gut wrenching pain in his heart, as it convulsed madly. Grief welling in his heart, he was way out of his league here. How do you attempt to help someone deal with a grief like this? Especially somebody you've been secretly in love with for the past 8 years.

"It just hurts so much"

"I know El, I know. It will hurt so damn much soon after. It's ok to cry, you know that right? You need time to adjust; this is a shock to everyone. You and Maria need a few months to let out all your feelings and you're tears. Just remember, it's not ok to cry forever El-bell, and I won't let you. Whenever you need me, I'll be here for you, as your best friend and maybe one day as more, I'll never leave you Ella, never."

Her tears continued to cascade down her cheeks, now a mixture of emotions. On the one hand she was crying because she had lost the one of the only stable fixtures in her life. A man whom she had loved more than anybody else in the world. A man who had shown her immense kindness and love in her 18 years on this earth. However, she was also touched by Troy's words, it was the most beautiful thing anybody had ever said to her and it told her everything she had ever needed, and wanted to hear.

"Thank you"

Her voice was laden with emotion as she clung to him. He had told her all she needed to know in those few sentences. They had been talking about their relationship for the past week; ever since he let it slip he wanted more from her. He cared for her, a lot, and he was willing to wait for her. For however long it took her to overcome the intense grief of her father's death he would wait. Her answer had been simple, and those two words spoke so broadly of everything she really meant, yet placed them in perfect context.

The death of her father hurt, and it would for a long time. The time it took her to get over his passing was undefined. It could take her as little as a year or the rest of her life to battle with the hurt. But no matter how long it took her, Troy would be there, as her best friend and maybe, as time passed, as something more. There was no hurry for them to dive into a relationship, and as Gabriella slowly absorbed the death of her father their friendship could blossom before turning into anything more serious.

Today had been the worst day of her life, but the visit from Troy had been her remarkably thin silver lining. He couldn't make everything better, nobody could, and he knew that. He wasn't there to try; he wasn't even there to comfort her. He was there to stop that feeling, that feeling of falling head first into a black hole plummeting into chaos from swallowing her whole. He was also there to remind her that he wasn't going anywhere, and he wouldn't be for a long time, and as she turned to look up at him, a weak, watery, and barely there smile on her face; she said the words he had been waiting to hear. The words which assured him that in time, her cracked and broken heart could be mended.

"Can we go for a jog?"

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**An: Totally random i know, but please review :)**


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